Marker



H. MARKER SAFETY sx1 BINDING Aug. 11, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheetl FledMay 7,1956 Pau cA/.E F161.

INVENTOR.

Aug. 11, 1959 H. MARKER- SAFETY sx; BINDING 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed'May7, 1956 Aug. 11,1959

H. MARKER SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed May '7, I1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.

United States Patent() SAFETY SKI BINDING Hannes Marker,Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Application May 7,` 1956, Serial No.583,248

Claims priority, application Germany May .11, 1955 Claims. (Cl.280-11.35)

This invention relatestosafety ski bindingsof the type having apivotable front cheek which presses' against the front edge of the skiboot and pivots laterally whenever a predetermined torque is exceededbythe shoe which is pressed against the front cheek by a conventionaltension cable.

Safety ski bindings of the said type produce a relatively tight seat ofthe boot on the ski in racing downhill. However, certain diicultiesarise when ascending and skiing on level ground owing to the fact thatthe tension cable in this case is engaged in cable holders provided in aforward position, so that a certain lateral displacementv or torsionalmovement' of the boot in relation to the ski :is possible, whereby thesafe guiding of the ski is impaired or the binding may even beinadvertently released. This lateral displacement can be prevented byadjusting a higher tensionand/ or a more diagonal direction of the cablewhereby, however, the lifting of the heel is hindered and rendered'dicult.

It is an object of the invention to provide means for avoiding thisdeficiency.

With this and further objects in View, according to the presentinvention there are provided, in addition to the pivotable front cheek,a pair of pivotable side cheeks abutting the flanks of the sole of theboot and being urged into their normal position by a slight spring forcein such a way that they can. be swung laterally by a torsional movementof the boot with respect to the ski without a noticeable resistance, alocking device being additionally provided for xing these side cheeks`in their normal position.

it will be appreciated that my novel ski binding cornbines theadvantages of a safety ski binding with front cheek with the advantagesof a binding provided with side cheeks, while avoiding the drawbacksinherent to these two types of bindings. In racing downhill itoperatesin conventional manner, i.e., the additional side cheeks areineffective, so that the boot will be released immediately in spite ofthe side cheeks in case of a heavy fall. During ascending or skiing onlevel ground the side cheeks bearing against the flanks of the sole witha slight spring pressure are xed so that they are rigid and preventlateral displacement or rotation of the boot, with the result that asafe and unobjectionable guiding of the ski is ensured. It is importantin this case that the tension of the cable may be small both duringascending and when skiing in the plane, that the heel can be freely andeasily lifted and' yet the ski is reliably guided by the boot.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willbe pointed out hereinafter and appear in the appended claims formingpart of the application.

In the accompanying drawings several now preferred embodiments of theinvention are shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a safety ski binding having the inventionapplied thereto, with a pivotable front cheek and additional pivotableside cheeks.

Fig. 1a is a detail of Fig. 1, in a section on line Ia-Ia of Fig. 2,

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a section on line III- lll of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a plan View on a modification,

Fig. 5 is a side view thereof,

Fig. 6 is a section on line VI-VI of Fig. 4,

7 is a plan View of a third embodiment, andV Fig; 8 is a side viewthereof, partly ina longitudinal section.

Similar reference numerals denote similar parts in the different views.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, and first to Figs. 1-3,it will be seen that a pivotable front. cheek 2, 3 adapted to engage thefront edge of the sole' of the boot is mountedl on a ski 1. The frontcheek may be constructed in any desired manner, but in the preferredembodiment shown in Figs. l, la andy 2, this front cheek is constructedaccording to an operating principle which is the subject of my copendingpatent application Ser. No. 340,187, iiled March 4, 1953, now PatentNumber 2,858,137, issued October 28, 1958. The front cheek comprises anabutment member 2 whose vertical lateral edges 2a and 2b are adapted toengage the front edge of the sole of the boot, and a pivotable member 3.The abutment member 2` and the pivotable member 3 are pivotallyconnected to each other by a pivot 4 or the like and the pivotablemember 3 is fulcrumed on a pivot 5 arranged on a base plate 6 iixedlyconnected to the ski.

Provided between members 2 and 3 is a click stop or detent means whichin the example illustrated includes a bifurcated bearing bracket 7 inwhich a bell crank or angle' lever 8' ismounted to swing about a pivot 9and a small roller 11 is rotatably mounted on the free end of thevertical leg of the lever. The pivotable member 3 is formed with arecess or groove 3a for engagement of the roller 11 which is urged intothe groove under action of a compression spring 10 acting on the anglelever 8 in the direction of the arrow E and being adjustable as to itstension by means of a screw 47. Thus the members 2-and 3 areinterconnected in such a way that member 2 will be swung about pivot 4in relation to member 3 only if a predetermined torque between the bootand the ski is exceeded. Secured to the abutment member 2, by means of ascrew 49, is a member 48 for holding down thesole, which member isindicated in Fig. l in dot-and-dash lines and formed with a longitudinalslot 50 for vertical adjustment.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3, bipartite angular cheeks 12, 13are provided whose horizontal part 12 is secured on the ski by screws 51while theirvertical part 13 is linked to the horizontal portion 12 by ahorizontal hinge whose hinge pin 14 is surrounded by a helical spring15. The end 15 of this spring engages the side cheek `13 from outsideand presses it against a stop 16 of the plate 12 so that the side cheek13 is held in itsvertical position.

The springs 15 are relatively weak, so that the function of the safetybinding is not impaired, i.e., that in case of a heavy fall of theskier, these side cheeks are urged aside by a boot about the axis 14 inthe direction A, without opposing a substantial resistance.

In the embodiment shown the plate members 12 are toothed at 17 forengagement with a complementary toothing 18 of the base plate 6, andheld in position by a cover plate (not shown) and the screws 51.

In order to be able to tix the swingable side cheeks 13 during ascentand also when skiing in the plane, the cheek members 13 are providedwith a slot 20 for pas'- sage of a toe strap 52.

If desired, another mechanical locking of the side cheeks 13 may beprovided. Thus, for instance, in Fig. l, locking pins 21 and 22 bent atright angles are indicated which are secured on the ski by means of abearing plate 23 so as to be swingable and longitudinally slidable.These locking pins take up the position shown in Fig. 1 during downhillrunning. For locking the side cheeks 13 the pins 21 and 22 are drawn outin the directions B and C and the arms 21a and 22a of the pins are swungupwards and connected with the cheeks 13 in a suitable manner, so thatthe latter are thereby rigidly held in the vertical position. As shownin Fig. 2, members 24 for holding down the cable are provided. Whenthecable is engaged in these members, a very favorable, low tension ofthe cable is attained which permits an easy lifting of the heel and thuseasy skiing on level ground.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, two angular side cheeks 25 areprovided which are mounted to swing about two vertical pivots 27arranged laterally and in front of the front cheek 2 and secured on twobase plates 28 which are formed each with a transverse slot 29 and intheir turn are secured on the ski for transverse adjustment by screws40. The angular cheeks 25 are provided at their rear end with a toothededge portion 30 adapted to be engaged with a complementary toothing 31of a slide 32 which is longitudinally slidable as indicated by arrow D.In the position shown in Fig. 4, the cheeks 25 which are urged againstthe flanks of the sole by means of a slight spring action are free toswing about the axes 27 (position for racing downhill). The springaction may, for instance be produced by torsion springs 27 woundrespectively about pivot pins 27 and anchored at one end thereof onthese pins and engaging with the outer end 27" the cheeks 25,respectively. For the ascent and for skiing on level ground the slide 32is forced into the toothing 30 of the angle cheeks for locking the same.Means for locking the slide 32 will be hereinafter described withreference to Fig. 6.

It will be understood that when sliding the boot into the binding, theside cheeks 13 or 25 simultaneously form a guide which brings the bootinto its proper central position. Moreover, in order to center the bootautomatically when sliding it into the binding, a slight tension actionis exerted by a tension spring or rubber member 33 urging the cheek intoits central position. The swinging out of the front cheek in case of aheavy fall is not impaired by this slight tension exerted by member 33.

The embodiments shown in Figs. 1-3 or 4 and 5 show that the side cheeks13 or 25 are arranged independently of the front cheek. This arrangementoffers the advantage that the numerous safety ski bindings with frontcheek already in use can be subsequently tted with these swingable andlockable side cheeks 13 or 25.

A further advantageous embodiment of the invention in which the frontcheek and the side cheeks are combined into a compact unit is shown inFigs. 7 and 8. side cheeks 34 which are also angularly shaped, arepivoted each on a vertical pivot pin 35 secured to the front cheek unit2. To this end, in the embodiment illustrated, two laterally adjustableangular bearing brackets 36 are mounted on the front cheek unit 2 andformed each with a pivot pin 35 for pivotable mounting of the sidecheeks 34. The bearing brackets 36 are provided with a transverse slot39 and connected to the horizontal plate of the front cheek member 2 bya screw 40. The side cheeks 34 are provided with a short angular arm 37for urging the side cheeks 34 against the sole under action of a tensionspring 38, a stop screw 138 on the bearing bracket 36 forming anabutment for the respective arm 37. Thus the side cheeks can be adjustedto fit the sole.

Again, a slight spring action may be exerted upon the front cheek bymeans of a tension spring 41, for holding the front cheek together withthe side cheeks 34 in their central position as shown.

Also, a slide 32 is provided for locking the side cheeks The two Ytoothed edge 30 of the side cheeks.

34 by means of its toothed edge 31 engaging in the A bell crank or anglelever 43 pivoted at 42 may be provided to operate the slide 32 by meansof a journal 44 engaging in a transverse slot 45 of the slide 32.Preferably, the lever 43 is arranged in such a way that it is in itsdead center position when the slide 32 is in the locking position, so asto provide a self-locking effect. Lateral guide plates 32 are providedfor guiding the slide 32. Guide plates 32 as well as slide 32 arepreferably mounted on a common supporting base or plate 146. Guideplates 32 are fastened to plate 146 and the latter to the ski 1 in anyVknown manner, for instance by screws.

A'further advantage of my novel safety ski binding consists in the factthat the side cheeks 13, 25, or 34 can be made relatively light and of athin material since these cheeks have to take up only relatively smallforces.

When running downhill, the side cheeks are ineiective and when ascendingor skiing on level ground the forces of the tensionl cable are taken upby the front cheek so that the side cheeks are relieved from the forcesof the tension cable and have to take up only the forces for lateralguiding, the lateral forces when skiing on level ground and ascendingbeing relatively small.

My novel safety ski binding permits an easy lifting of the heel whenskiing on level ground or ascending with low tension action of thecable. With this type of skiing, a larger displacement of the front edgeof the sole occurs in relation to the supporting cheek 2, which maycause a premature wear or injury to the edge of the sole. For thisreason it is advantageous, as indicated in Fig. l, to provide on thefront cheek 2 a vertically slidable sheet 46 forming an abutment for thefront edge of the sole. If desired, this slidable sheet may beadditionally grooved in a transverse direction on the supporting edges46a, so as to ensure that it is safely taken along by the edge of thesole.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certainnow preferred examples and embodiments of the invention it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art after understanding the inventionthat various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended,therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

l. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek secured to the ski soas to form an abutment for the front edge of the boot and adapted topivot laterally in case 0f excessive torsional stress upon the boot,means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of pivotable sidecheeks on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis passing through thepivot of the front cheek gently springurged into their normal positionin engagement with the anks of the sole of the boot, so as to yieldlaterally without noticeable resistance in case of a rotary motion ofthe boot, and a locking device cooperable with said side `cheeks adaptedto lock the side cheeks in their normal position.

2. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek secured to the ski soas to form an abutment for the front edge of the boot and adapted topivot laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon the boot,elastic means urging the front cheek into its central position, meansurging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of pivotable sidecheeks on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis passing through thepivot of the front cheek gently springurged into their normal positionin engagement with the flanks of the sole of the boot, so as to yieldlaterally without noticeable resistance in case of a rotary motion ofthe boot, and a locking device cooperable with said side cheeks adaptedto lock the side cheeks in their normal position.

3. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek sccured to the ski soas to form an abutment for the front edge of the boot and adapted topivot laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon the boot,means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of bipartiteangular side cheeks on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis passingthrough the pivot of the front cheek, each of said cheeks having ahorizontal part adjustably secured on the ski and a vertical cheek partlinked to the horizontal part by a horizontal hinge and spring-urgedinto the normal vertical position delined by a stop face, for abuttingthe anks of the sole of the boot, and a locking device cooperable withsaid side cheeks adapted to lock the side cheeks in their normalposition.

4. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek secured to the ski soas to form an abutment for the front edge of the boot and adapted topivot laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon the boot,means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of pivotable sidecheeks on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis passing through thepivot of the front cheek gently spring-urged into their normal positionin engagement with the ilanks of the sole of the boot, so as to yieldlaterally without noticeable resistance in case of a rotary motion ofthe boot, each of the side cheeks being formed with a slot, and a toestrap adapted to be passed through the slots for holding the two sidecheeks in their normal position.

5. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek secured to the ski soas to form an abutment for the front edge of the boot and adapted topivot laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon the boot,means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of angular sidecheeks spring-urged into their normal position abutting the anks of thesole, a pair of vertical pivot pins mounted for lateral adjustmentforward of the front cheek and respectively on opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis passing through the pivot of the front cheek forpivotal mounting of the side cheeks whose horizontal rearward edges arecircularly curved around the pivot as a center axis and toothed, and alockable slide having a complementary toothed and curved front edgeadapted to be engaged with the toothed rearward edges of the side cheeksfor locking the side cheeks in their normal positions.

6. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek unit forming anabutment for the front edge of the boot and pivotally mounted on the skiso as to yield laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon theboot, means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair of verticalpivot pins secured on the iront cheek unit respectively on oppositesides of the longitudinal axis passing through the pivot of the frontcheek, a pair of side cheeks of angular shape each pivoted on one ofsaid pivot pins and spring-urged into its normal position abutting theanks of the sole of the boot, and a locking member provided on the skifor locking the side cheeks in their normal position by means ofcomplementary toothed portions of the end edges of the horizontal legsof the angular cheeks and of the locking member, respectively.

7. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek unit forming anabutment for the front edge of the boot and pivotally mounted on the skiso as to yield laterally in case of excessive torsional stress upon theboot, means urging the boot against said front cheek, a pair oflaterally adjustable pivot holders with vertical pivot pins mounted onthe front cheek unit respectively on opposite sides of the longitudinalaxis passing through the pivot of the front cheek, a pair of side cheeksof angular shape each pivoted on one of said pivot pins and spring-urgedinto its normal position abutting the ilanks of the sole of the boot,and a locking member provided on the ski for locking the side cheeks intheir normal position by means of complementary toothed portions of theend edges of the horizontal legs of the angular cheeks and of thelocking member, respectively.

8. A safety ski binding comprising a front cheek unit forming anabutment for the front edge of the boot pivotally connected to the skito yield laterally in the event of excessive torsional stress upon theboot, means urging the boot against the front cheek, a pair of verticalpivot pins secured to the front cheek unit respectively on oppositevsides of the longitudinal axis passing through the pivot of the frontcheek, a pair of angular side cheeks each pivoted on one of said pivotpins and spring urged intd its normal position abutting the iiank of theboot sole,` and a locking device cooperable with the side cheeks adaptedto lock the side cheeks in their normal position.

9. A safety ski binding comprising, in combination, a front cheeksecured to the ski so as to form an abutment for the front edge of aboot and adapted to pivot laterally in case of excessive torsionalstress upon the boot; a pair of pivotal side cheeks on opposite sides ofthe longitudinal axis passing through the pivot of the front cheekpermanently slightly spring-urged into operative position in engagementwith the flanks of the sole of the boot so as to yield laterally withoutnoticeable resistance in case of a rotary motion of the boot when thesame is subjected to excessive torsional stress and when said frontcheek of the boot pivots laterally; a locking device adapted toreleasably lock said side cheeks in their operative position; and meansurging said boot against said front cheek with a tension adjustablebetween a low tension in which said boot is tiltable relative to saidfront cheek in a manner so that the heel of the boot can move toward andaway from the ski and a high tension in which the boot is substantiallynot tiltable relative to said front cheek but held superimposed upon theski, whereby for uphill climb said side cheeks may be locked by saidlocking device in operative position preventing unwanted lateralmovement of the boot and the tension of said urging means may beadjusted to a low tension permitting the tilting of the boot relative tosaid front cheek necessary for uphill climbing and whereby duringdownhill run said side cheeks may be unlocked permitting lateralyielding of said side cheeks in case of rotary motion of the boot whenthe same is subjected to excessive torsional stress and the tension ofsaid urging means may be adjusted to a high tension in which the heel ofthe boot is substantially non-liftable from the ski but fixed to the skias necessary for downhill run.

10. A safety ski binding as defined in claim 9 in which said urgingmeans includes a cable loop extending over the heel portion of the boot.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,615,032 Palmquist Jan. 18, 1927 2,093,044 Gresvig Sept. 14, 19372,308,338 MCIlVaine Jan. l2, 1943 2,381,793 Wallace Aug. 7, 19452,468,879 Hvam May 3, 1949 2,513,926 Erwin July 4, 1950 2,676,813 BeylApr. 27, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 844,838 France May 1, 1939 959,356 FranceSept. 26, 1949 1,077,640 France May 5, 1954 1,101,741 France Apr. 27,1955 322,456 Italy Nov. 12, 1934 278,973 Switzerland Feb. 16, `1952

